


Things We Lost

by PomeGranny



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Drabble, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22222126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PomeGranny/pseuds/PomeGranny
Summary: Things Lio knows about Galo:He's dull but passionate, empathetic and kind, and maybe a little bit too arrogant for someone who wasn't the sharpest person in the world.What he doesnt know about Galo: He's an orphan.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 8
Kudos: 185





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I have too many feelings about Galo being an orphan but twice as many fics to write for a completely different fandom so enjoy this done up drabble posted from mobile because it's going to kill me if I don't.

A fire he couldn't fight, that was new. 

Galo spent his entire life training, preparing himself, for moments like this- instead of running away from the blaze that he feared, he learned to respect its destructive powers and devoted his life to putting it out, burnish and normal fires alike. 

But now here he was, trapped under the rubble of a collapsed roof of the apartment blaze that had gone wildly out of hand. It was almost funny that this was looking more and more like his end after successfully completing the Herculean task of saving the world.

He could barely feel his face or arms, black spots dancing in his vision. 

Galo's too bulky and hard to maneuver mech was abandoned somewhere in the ruin as he jumped out to try and get the person, a young man shivering in the corner, out from the blaze when the roof collapsed on the both of them.

He couldn't be sure if the other man survived, worryingly his cries for help had gone mute- and suddenly as the flaming debris scorched and scalded his body through his uniform, Galo can't bring himself to reorient his broken body or move from beneath the rubble.

Instead he gets a flash back of the memory that was burned ( _Ha_ ) into his mind, the same feelings of desperation and hopelessness mimicking the night when-

_ "Mom! Dad!" He shouted into the suffocating walls of fire. His home looked nothing like it used to and Galo had no way of knowing which way to go.  _

_ "Mom! Please, help me I'm scared!" He shouted, tears falling out of his eyes as the smoke and fumes became overwhelming. He wailed and dashed away from the fires, why wasn't anyone helping him? Was he going to die? _

_"Help me, please!"_

He was greeted with more silence, just like he was now- except this time there was no one to save him like that day. 

He was alone, and the dumb luck that managed to get him through his life so far finally ran dry. His consciousness begins slipping as he chokes on the fumes, lungs finally giving up the fruitless battle of keeping him alive and distantly and bitterly Galo thinks to himself that Kray finally had gotten what he wanted in the end- even if it took half a year for it to happen.

The last part is enough to make him try and fight to keep his eyes opens, to try and move from his place pinned to the ground and spit in the face of death yet again. But it only seems to prolong the agony of the flames licking at his body as he struggles beneath the weight of metal beams.

Finally he hears shouting, it sounds like his name and other things that are too incoherent to make out. He feels finally the flames being put out and he feels some temporary relief from the sudden coolness of the flames being extinguished, and he hears the sound of a mech being piloted and moving the rubble off of him.

Looking through unfocused eyes, Galo sees the worried face of Varys shouting something at him as he jumps from the mech and help guides Galo's body into the transportation pack of the mech. Galo tries to say through a tongue that won't move, that the man is still trapped- Galo couldn't get to him in time they have to get him out from there.

He's not sure if any of those words came out, but as Galo was laying heaving in the back of the mech, he feels the machine move, a door open, and a body be settled next to his.

When a fresh stream of air finally greets him again, he hears the sirens of an ambulance and the worried shouting of his team.

"...idiot... where... mech?"

Was that Aina? He can't respond still teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. 

"It was... of the hallways... too big to pilot..."

That sounded like Varys, where was Galo right now? Why couldn't he wake up?

"-tried to save.... guy is in the ambulance too..."

Galo is only fading in and out of his teams conversation until he feels his body being hoisted onto a cloth bed, a mask is put over his face and people who are nowhere near as familiar begin speaking to each other in rapid succession. 

Then next thing he knew everything went black.

Lio had no idea what to expect or think when he received a rushed call from Aina, telling him that Galo was in the hospital.

"We were taking care of an apartment fire, his mech was too big to pilot through one of the hallways and a guy was trapped and he went in- ugh I gotta go, the ambulance is leaving now! We'll be at Promepolis General near the station!"

She had said rapidly, before the line went dead, leaving no time for Lio to respond.

He rushes to the garage of the burning rescue station, having decided to stay there to study for his entrance exams for burning rescue, and takes one of the bikes. He can be yelled at for it later, that didn't matter right now.

What mattered was that his new oaf of a companion was now possibly lying on his deathbed.

Lio rushes through the city streets, the scene still not entirely recovered from the whole Parnassus incident, and comes to a screeching halt in front of the hospital after deftly maneuvering his ride through rubble and cracked streets. He parks the bike and rushes in, thankfully greeted by the sight of burning rescue.

None of them looked to be in good shape- Varys' lips were drawn into a tight line as he played with the brim of his cap, Lucia had been fidgeting more than usual and Aina had been pacing back and forth around the waiting room full of tired looking and exhausted people. All of them were covered in soot to some degree and smelled heavily like charcoal and gasoline.

"Lio!" Lucia says, breaking the teams worried state as Lio waved an awkward hand. It was still weird talking to the rest of burning rescue without Galo to fill the gaps in awkward conversation. But Galo's acute absence is why he's here and what was even more confusing was why they were stuck in a waiting room and not by Galo's side.

"Where's Galo? What happened?" He says, looking over the rescue unit who looked dog tired and ready to drop on the spot. "They're getting ready to treat him in the back right now, but we won't be able to go in and see him until he's awake," Varys says, knee bouncing and fingers switching from messing with his cap to scratching at his chin, not looking at him when he responds. 

"That whole family rule is stupid, burning rescue  _ is _ family! You guys annoy just as much as my blood relatives do, that has to count for something!" Lucia complains, throwing her head back against the cheap plastic waiting room chairs.

Aina shakes her head. "Well until you get it on to paper, we wait. But, we're glad you came Lio," she says with a kind smile at the end directed at the former burnish himself. He still didn't know what to do with this newfound kindness and he wishes even more that Galo were here- no matter that it was touching to know his presence was welcome. 

He coughs behind his hand before reorienting himself. 

"Of course, but what happened? Is Galo going to be okay?" He asks, taking a seat with the rest of the burning rescue. "Well, there was a pretty bad blaze in one of the apartments downtown. It shouldn't have been anything we couldn't handle, but most of our rescue gear is still made for burnish fire," Aina says, shaking her head. "Yeah, all that tech and time of my research gone to waste because they're pretty useless against regular fires," Lucia butts in, with a dramatic sigh. 

" _ Anyways _ , the mechs are still pretty useful because they can allow us to navigate normal fires still without an issue, but they're way too big. Galo was clearing out one of the floors we couldn't reach and he found someone trapped in one of the apartments and well.. Varys, you were there," Aina continues, nodding her head to the largest burning rescue member.

"I don't know how it happened exactly but I found him stuck under a collapsed beam. He wasn't in his mech, and even I had to break down the whole wall just to make it through to him," Varys says with a sigh. "And now we're here. We don't know how he's doing, he was scorched pretty bad when I finally got him from under there but he was awake enough to tell me that the was another guy who got stuck under there too,"

Lio nods slowly, quiet as he processed the information. A more rueful and bitter part of himself haughtily thinks ' _ Serves them right for worrying only about the burnish _ ' but it's not really the time for that, and more importantly it had gotten Galo hurt badly.

"So... do we just wait for Galo's family to arrive then?" Lio says as he adjusts himself on the cheap seating. The odd stares he gets in return make him feel uncomfortable, and he folds his arms across his chest indignantly. "I'm not very familiar with how these hospitals operate," he says, and sometimes he thinks he should write a sign that says 'former mad burnish, all of this shit is new to me.'

But the three other burning rescue members all exchanged looks of understanding and sigh simultaneously. It was scary how in sync they could be even outside of their jobs.

"You've been with us this whole time, and you still don't know?" Lucia says, shooting him a questioning glance. "I mean you and him are practically attached at the hip everytime you come around the station, there's no way it hasn't come up!" She complains and Lio is only more confused. 

"About hospital procedures? No, we don't really talk about that," Lios dead pans, and its Varys who cuts in before the conversation can go into a long drawn out circle jerk about who's talking about what. 

"Galo's an orphan, kid. He doesn't have anyone to visit him," he says, watching the sudden realization hit Lio head on. "Except us of course, but legal stuff says we can't go back there," he adds at the end.

"Oh... I see," he says after a while and everyone sits in even more awkward silence. "Just uh, don't like- bring it up or anything? Like, just not here. Anywhere else is fine, but bringing that up while he's in the hospital is probably the only way to ever see Galo genuinely upset," Aina says, after a bit.

Lio doesn't really question it and nods along, the concern on her face enough to tell him that they've had first hand experience with that. "Got it. So we're just waiting then?"

The crew nods and Lio sighs.


	2. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories- Maroon 5

" _Mooooom," Galo complains, kicking tiny feet as his short legs hung loosely in his chair. "Galoooooo," a woman with beautifully long ocean blue hair coos back with a cheeky grin as she sits down at the dinner table with her son who was stubbornly pushing the peas around on his plate._

  
_"I don't like peas," he mutters, squashing them with his fork and a pout as his father- a man built like a truck and the same sapphire eyes that reflected in his son's own- walks in with an air of mirth and ruffles Galo's wild hair._

  
_"You don't? Then how do you think you're going to get big and strong like me?" He says, making a silly display of flexing a bicep. Being a mechanic had to be hard work, Galo thinks as he hums in frustrated contemplation. His mother laughs and shakes her head and he can't help but think his mom had a very nice smile._

  
_Maybe if he ate his peas and got as big and strong as his dad he could make her smile more too he wonders, and tentatively picks up the crushed vegetable and puts it in his mouth and-_

  
_"AHHHHHH!"_

  
_All of a sudden Galo's world was engulfed by raging magenta and yellow hued flames- his mother's face drawn into an expression of agony as she jumped to protect her small son from the snake like flames that had jumped out to attack her son._

  
_His father was the one to react next, grabbing his burning wife who was still holding onto Galo and trying to protect his body with hers, he hoisted his family into his arms and ran out of the dining room, everything quickly becoming engulfed in smoke and ash as the flames tore everything apart._

  
_Galo couldn't help the crying as he clung tightly to his mother-_

  
_Everything gets blurry after that. He doesn't remember letting go, only that he didn't want to but he was alone trying his hardest to run away from the flames that had set the apartment alight. He could hear screaming and wailing and crying and everyone tried rushing out in a panic but it was Galo- only Galo- who managed to break free and run from the blaze dizzy and light headed from the fumes._

  
_Until his whole frame was stopped by a truck of a man who he had all but bolted into._

  
_From there it's hard to remember again, all he can remember are tall and intimidating people trying to sympathetically tell him that he has no home now, his family is gone. He remembers being in an orphanage and he remembers the joy of being taken in only to be sent back time and time again-_

  
_And now-_

  
"...-mos. Mr. Thymos, are you awake?" He hears distantly and he struggles to open his eyes. The world is white and sterile, and with the dawning realization that he's no longer running through dreams of times long since past he struggles to sit up before he hears tutting and feels a firmly gentle hand pushing him back down on the bed.

  
"Energetic as always I see," the voice says and they shouldn't be as familiar as they were to Galo. "Mornin' Doc," he says through a throat that felt like he had swallowed razor blades and vinegar all at once.

  
The doctor spares him a small laugh as she shakes her head before she's writing something on the clipboard. "You've got some visitors. It's the burning rescue team and a... Lio Fotia? Would you like them to come in?" She asks thoughtfully.

  
Galo, even through the feelings of wanting to be anywhere else but here and wanting absolutely no one see him like he looked like he was well on his way to the morgue, nods.

  
Misery loves company, right?

  
"Alright,"

  
It's actually a little while before Burning rescue comes in with a Lio, that for once in all of Galo's time knowing him, looks uncomfortable. The doctor quickly walked him through how he mostly sustained burns and a broken arm, but was otherwise lucky to have come out in one piece 

  
Finally he's surrounded by the jointly worried faces of Lucia, Aina, Vary and Lio as they all take various places in the cramped hospital room.

  
"Wow, you made it yet again!" Lucia exclaims as he sits cross legged on the seat next to Galo's bed. "Was there ever any doubt?" He says weakly, trying to force something of a cocky grin.

  
"Well, I promise you that you have more than met your near death experience quota for the year. Isn't saving the world enough for you already?" Aina quips back, leaning against the wall and giving Galo a hard stare.

  
"Hey, it's not my fault those mechs are too damn big to do us any good anymore," he huffs, looking away in indignant indifference. "Yeah, but did you have to run out of it and almost get yourself killed in the process? We only get one Galo Thymos you know," Varys says, the anxious bouncing of his knee betraying the forced mirth on his face.

  
"And don't you bad mouth my work! Ah, to think I'd live to see the day all of my countless hours of effort actually go to waste," Lucia complains dramatically, seemingly the only on in the room who wasn't affected by the near stifling amount of tension of everyone walking on eggshells about Galo almost dying. Again.

  
Save for Lio who was still standing on the opposite side of his wounded companion's bed who was silent in contemplation. He kind of wants to jump in on the dog pile of getting on Galo for almost dying mere months after surviving having to save the world, but he can't help but take pity on the exhausted expression he tries covering up with a mask of nonchalance.

  
Did no one seriously notice?

  
The conversation continues on without him, as Lucia tries to steer the conversation back to her work time and time again before Aina jumps back in occasionally to tell Galo to take his life more seriously.

  
"Well, more than anything we're glad your okay rookie. Just get some rest and we'll catch the captain and Remi up to speed. They'll probably be on their way to visit you tomorrow," Varys says, Galo giving another grin. "Aw shucks, you think they'll visit lil ol' me?" He says jovially and Aina rolls her eyes.

  
"Well, it's usually a team effort to get anything through that thick skull of yours so just consider it them finishing up the job, you big goof," and she finishes it off with a playful flick to his forehead.

  
The banter gets cut off by the sound of Varys' phone ringing and he jumps up and out of the room quickly before he's sticking his head back through the door with an apologetic look. "Sorry kid, my dad needs me back at home to help out with my sisters. I'll catch up with you guys later, don't do anything stupid while I'm gone!" He says before he's waving goodbyes to his teammates just missing Galo huffing "I'm not a kid!"

  
And slowly, Lio watches as Lucia and Aina make their way back home to their own families and lives and before he knows it he's alone in the room with Galo looking at him expectantly.

  
"You know, I've never seen you go so long without talking before," Galo says, filling in the silence that the departure of his teammates had left behind. 

  
"That's probably because you're too busy yapping away all the time. Not all of us feel the need to say everything that crosses our mind," Lio teases, watching with mild satisfaction as Galo pouts but then he grows uncharacteristically quiet for the first time since Lio has stepped into the room. He’s pretty confident that Galo can’t now magically read his own thoughts about him being bed ridden and alone, but the way he pauses in a tense silence makes Lio feel like maybe he can.

  
"You don't have to stay you know. I'm pretty sure you, Gueira, and Meis should have your hands full with trying to pass your exams and helping out the ex burnish, yeah?" He says after a moment, sparing a moment to look directly at Lio who in turn just shakes his head and sits in the seat that Lucia had long since abandoned.

  
"Nobody said anything about having to do anything. Besides we've lead a terrorist organization just fine, I don’t think an exam is going to do us in," Lio says before pausing thoughtfully when Galo doesn't look very convinced. "Unless you preferred some time to yourself?" He adds on.

  
"No!" Galo says quickly, too quickly, before he flushes a bit. Shame was definitely not a good look on Galo Thymos, Lio thinks.

  
"No, I mean... it could just get a little boring, you know? I usually just count the holes in the ceiling tiles for fun and I definitely understand if you want to go home and not have to be stuck in a tiny room until visiting hours are over?" Galo says quickly and Lio rolls his eyes.

  
"I used to set twigs on fire for fun, I can imagine worse ways to spend an evening," Lio continues while shifting himself on the chair to get a good look at the ceiling, pointedly avoiding the moved and emotional look Galo gives him. 

  
“So, how many do you think there are?” Lio says as he adjusts himself to get a better view while the other man just coughs before looking back up at the ceiling. “Well, I know for a fact that there’s at least four hundred and seventy seven of them,” he says matter of factly. “For a fact? Did you get this room before?” Lio says, his turn now to shoot an odd look and turn to face Galo who just shrugged and smiled.

  
“Oh at least like five other times. I’m a regular here,” he says with a sheepish smile. “I always lose count every time after that number, I think the last time I tried I made it to about four hundred and ninety seven, but well- that was 6 months ago," he says, growing quiet again.

  
6 months ago, Galo had been brought in to make sure he wasn't going to drop dead after everyone had been saved. Granted most of the rescue team had been in and out, and even Lio had to be convinced to let actual health care professionals to do a once over on him.

  
They don't really speak much about everything that came after the fact of saving the world, of the slowly but surely building kinship between the two of them or any of the complicated feelings of the aftermath.

  
"Well, we're both here to count now right? I'll keep track and we'll see if you were right the first time," Lio says, deciding to shelve the unresolved feelings of where their lives were now or where it would lead to in the future.

  
Galo gives him a bright smile that evokes more feelings that Lio decides can be dealt with later.

  
They spend the remaining time of visiting hours confirming just how many holes were in the ceiling and bickering over what exactly did constitute as a hole and what was just a slight dent before a nurse politely informs them that Lio has to leave.

  
Lio is tempted to try and hide under the bed or something equally ridiculous when Galo's face drops in disappointment before turning to give him a sad smile. "Ah damn, guess we'll have to settle this some other time," Galo says as the other man stands up slowly.

  
"I guess so. Well, how about tomorrow then?" Lio says with a kind smile, one that puts Galo's slightly anxious heart at ease. 

  
"What about your exams?" He says, half expecting Lio to tut and cock his head to the side like he was prone to doing when he thinks about things that he hasn't considered. 

  
"Well, you passed your tests with flying colors. Why don't I bring my books and you can test me? Who better to learn from than the world's number one fire fighting idiot?" Lio teases again with another look that Galo can't put a name to the emotion that it evokes. 

  
"Alright, but I won't make it easy on you!" He says, sapphire eyes glinting with stubborn excitement while Lio shakes his head with a laugh before getting up to leave, pausing at the door to wave a hand.

"Good night Galo," he says, before he's out of the room leaving the injured firefighter with near stifling silence.

"G'Night," Galo calls back. 

When Lio comes in the next day, Galo isn't there. 


End file.
